Work out your federal tax liability, marginal bracket and effective rate for the tax year you choose.
Understanding the federal tax calculation
Federal tax depends on three things: your income, your filing status, and your deduction. Change any one of them here and the liability updates instantly.
Pre-tax contributions such as a traditional 401(k) or HSA reduce taxable income directly, so adding them here shows the tax saving immediately.
How to use it
- Enter your gross income for the year.
- Select filing status, tax year and deduction type.
- Add pre-tax contributions to see the reduction in tax.
The calculation
taxable income = gross − pre-tax − deduction
tax = sum of each bracket slice at its own rate
The default scenario, worked through
As an example, with a gross annual income of 75,000, the calculator returns a federal tax owed of $8,114. Underneath, Taxable income comes out at $60,000 and Deduction used at $15,000. Change any field and every figure updates as you type.
Common questions
Which tax year should I pick?
Choose the year the income was earned, not the year you file. Income earned in 2025 is filed in early 2026.
Are the 2026 figures final?
No — 2026 brackets shown here are projected from inflation indexing and will be replaced when the IRS publishes final numbers.